The Florida Relays
first began over half a century ago in 1939, thanks to the vision and creativeness
of the Gators' legendary head track and field coach Percy Beard.
Since that first meet 57 years ago, the Coca-Cola Florida Relays have grown
in epic proportions from the small regional competitions on April Fool's
Day that featured 209 competitors, to one of the nation's premier track
and field meets.

Florida, Alabama, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, the University
of Havana and Palm Beach Junior College composed the university division
of the inaugural Florida Relays, while Daytona Beach, Lake City, Live
Oak, Miami Senior, Ocala, Palm Beach, Riverside Military Acdemy, Jacksonville
Lee and St. Petersburg competed in the nine-team high school division.

The Florida Relays were established after the Southern Relays, held at Georgia
Tech, were discontinued in the 1930s. Coach Beard was forced to create a
new meet or travel hundreds of miles north to Philadelphia for the Penn
Relays. Beard's coaching peers throughout the southeast were receptive to
the idea and the Florida Relays were born.

Since its inception, the Florida Relays have grown in both stature and size.
Often regarded nationally as the first major event of the collegiate outdoor
track and field season, the Relays have grown from a one-day inaugural event
featuring slightly more than 200 athletes to a four-day extravaganza that
attracts over 3,000 athletes from the high school, collegiate and international
ranks.

The Relays have been held every year since 1939 except during World War
II (1942-46). The first 15 meets were held on the cinder track at Graham
Field, south of Florida Field. In 1959, UF's track and field complex was
moved to its present location.

The 1959 Florida Relays was a historical meet, as the University of Florida
unveiled the first all-weather track surface in the world. The Asphalt grasstex
surface was another of Coach Percy Beard's many track innovations.
That surface remained in place until a nine-lane Chevron 400 rubberized
surface was installed and the current Rekortan surface was put in place
during the summer of 1991.